AMES – No. 14 Iowa State took down Arizona State 26-15 behind the performances of eight sophomores. Carter Fousek, a 157-pound sophomore, notched the win of the night with a pinfall after being down 6-0 early in the match.
“He was ready to go, but I just knew if I stayed in there I’d have a chance,” Fousek said. “I was tired but I had to try something too and it just worked out.”
Dresser’s milestone win
Iowa State head coach Kevin Dresser notched his 250th career win. It was also his 90th win at Iowa State.
“For this year they haven’t come as easy,” Dresser said. “It’s also a sign that you are probably getting old. I’ve been fortunate enough to be at two great institutions with Virginia Tech and Iowa State.”
“Jamie Pollard gave me a chance here, so you have to have the right guy at the top to give you a chance to win that many matches,” Dresser said.
Early bonus point opportunities missed
No. 7 149-pound redshirt sophomore Paniro Johnson has more levels to get to, according to Iowa State assistant coach Derek St. John. Johnson seems to be getting to those new levels, but he wasn’t quite there Friday night.
Johnson is now 9-0 in the 149-pound weight class and has won 13 matches in a row after taking down Arizona State’s No. 21 Jesse Vasquez. Johnson successfully pulled off two takedowns in the third period and tried hard to get bonus points but failed.
“Paniro [Johnson] needed to get that bonus point situation,” Dresser said. “The old Paniro would have been happy with a 3-2 victory, so I think we are getting a new and improved Paniro.”
165-pound redshirt sophomore Aiden Riggins was right there, too, with the bonus points, and he did not miss his opportunity. Riggins garnered a major decision and was close to a tech fall.
Riggins totaled four takedowns in the third period and actively played cat and mouse with his opponent.
“[Aiden] Riggins was knocking on the door of a tech, and when you get those opportunities you really need to be greedy,” Dresser said.
Herrera holds his own
No. 26 heavyweight freshman Daniel Herrera has had his hands full the last few weeks, facing multiple top 10 heavyweight wrestlers, and that was no different Friday night. Herrera matched up with Arizona State’s No. 5 Cohlton Schultz, who is five years older than Herrera.
Compared to his match with Oklahoma State’s No. 3 Wyatt Hendrickson, Herrera wrestled a much more competitive match, but he was unable to gain any points. He fell to Schultz 3-0, but did not give up a takedown.
“I thought Daniel Herrera fought really well because [Schultz] is a hard guy to wrestle,” Dresser said. “He doesn’t take a lot of leg attempts but he controls the mat really well. He has a very unique style. If you take a shot on him then he squashes you and runs around you and gets three points. It’s not a thing of beauty but it is effective.”
Iowa State’s next dual is against No. 15 Pittsburgh on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Hilton Coliseum. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
MATCH-BY-MATCH RESULTS
No. 14 Iowa State 26, Arizona State 15
125: #2 Richard Figueroa (ASU) WBF Ethan Perryman (ISU), 1:55
133: #5 Evan Frost (ISU) dec. Julian Chlebove (ASU), 5-1
141: #11 Jacob Frost (ISU) dec. Emilio Ysaguirre (ASU), 6-1
149: #7 Paniro Johnson (ISU) dec. #21 Jesse Vasquez (ASU), 10-4
157: Carter Fousek (ISU) WBF Pierson Manville (ASU), 6:07
165: Aiden Riggins (ISU) MD Javani Majoor (ASU), 21-7
174: #21 MJ Gaitan (ISU) MD Joseph Manfredi (ASU), 15-5
184: Shay Addison (ASU) WBF Nando Villaescusa (ISU), 5:38
197: Nate Schon (ISU) dec. Jacob Meissner (ASU), 7-4
285: #5 Cohlton Schultz (ASU) dec. #26 Daniel Herrera (ISU), 3-0
